Reducing the Environmental Impact of Materials Use

Project Description

MDB manages the Sustainable Materials Management Coalition, a diverse private-public partnership that provides information and aims to develop new policies on sustainable materials management. The Coalition is composed of representatives of business, academia, environmental and community organizations, and state and local governments, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). MDB Senior Vice President Tim Fields, a former EPA assistant administrator, chairs the Coalition.

This partnership gives advice to the EPA and other stakeholders on sustainable materials management, which involves using or reusing materials in the most productive and environmentally sound ways across their entire life cycles. This approach reduces waste and adverse effects on the environment, and it conserves resources.

“We commend the Sustainable Materials Management Coalition for another very valuable report and for the great job it has done bringing business, government, and environmental advocates together to talk about the environmental impact of materials use.”

In November 2016, the Coalition issued a new report which supports a national goal of reducing the negative environmental impact of materials use across their entire life cycle. The report stresses the importance of reduced waste generation and increased recycling in reducing materials use and adverse environmental impacts. The Coalition report contains specific findings and recommendations on how to reduce the environmental impact of materials use.